Larry Magid: Security Flaw In Apple’s New iOS 7

CUPERTINO, CA - SEPTEMBER 10: Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing at Phil Schiller speaks about the new iPhone 5S during an Apple product announcement at the Apple campus on September 10, 2013 in Cupertino, California. The company launched two new iPhone models that will run iOS 7. The 5C is made from a hard-coated polycarbonate and comes in five colors. The 5S comes in three colors and contains an A7 chip. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) — Apple’s iOS 7 has only been out for a couple days, but after the much anticipated release, someone has already found a flaw that can let someone access your phone, even if it’s locked.

If the phone is locked, you can go to the control center by swiping up and selecting the alarm clock. Then you would command the phone to shut down. Before the phone shuts down, you would hit cancel and hit the home button a few times. That would bring up the multitasking screen, allowing access to the phone.

I’ve tried it, but I didn’t succeed. ZDnet reported it took them several attempts to accomplish. However, multiple sources have said that it can be done.

Apple has acknowledged the flaw and we should see a quick fix. In the meantime you can go to settings and go the control center and turn off the access to the lock screen so you can no longer get to it. It’s a Band-Aid fix for a larger issue.

Larry Magid is a technology journalist and an Internet safety advocate.
He serves as on-air technology analyst for CBS News, is co-director of ConnectSafely.org and founder of SafeKids.com. He also writes columns that appear on CNET New...